Stealing the Magic for 2 - WB Panama Canal - Updated 7/5

[poffles]

Okay ... so let me try again ...

VERY patiently waiting ...

 

[I Run Long]

Count me in too! This is my dream cruise but we've got kids darn it - how did that happen. I'm saving now and figure it will take me about 4 years - here's hoping Disney has a Panama Canal cruise then. Can't wait to read your report.

 

[JLSE50]

I haven't decided between a massage or the exotic rasul

Will you be my muddy buddy

Where did you find the great map that is in your signature?
Jan

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

ok, does this being a "mud buddy" has something to do with finding," i'm a
hidden mickey"?

...

if so..is there a "secret handshake" and is anybody welcome....
to join...the club ?

or are there any "special requirments"..for membership?....

{according to my wife, "i can't dance, i can't sing, & the only thing
special..is the way i walk... } but i do know a few words from
"rocky top"...



..jus wondering , as it reminded me of the "tea pot" song....

..[ here's is my handle , & here's is my spout..when i get all steam
up....tip me over... ].


however, your story~

sorta caught my attention,...you were on the 10 dayer & now the may pc.
we were on the 11-nighter..and now on the aug. pc. so your "report"...
will be helpful...[ maybe learn somthing new..that i can "surprise" my lil'miss
cutie pie..like extra~circumlocution activites. ]


oh, here's another..oldie but goodie...."no stick or stems..you don't need..
that acapulco 's gold..is sum bad...


*
really, hope its a grand~old adventure/s with lots of !

 

[IAmAHiddenMickey]

Okay ... so let me try again ...

VERY patiently waiting ...

Where did you find the great map that is in your signature?
Jan

It's on the Disney Crusie website when you click on the info about the 15 night WB. It's a flash thing, so you have to wait for the animation to stop and then you can grab it with screen capture software. I may post it a little later to show where the cruise will be going

ok, does this being a "mud buddy" has something to do with finding," i'm a
hidden mickey"?

...

if so..is there a "secret handshake" and is anybody welcome....
to join...the club ?

or are there any "special requirments"..for membership?....

{according to my wife, "i can't dance, i can't sing, & the only thing
special..is the way i walk... } but i do know a few words from
"rocky top"...



..jus wondering , as it reminded me of the "tea pot" song....

..[ here's is my handle , & here's is my spout..when i get all steam
up....tip me over... ].


however, your story~

sorta caught my attention,...you were on the 10 dayer & now the may pc.
we were on the 11-nighter..and now on the aug. pc. so your "report"...
will be helpful...[ maybe learn somthing new..that i can "surprise" my lil'miss
cutie pie..like extra~circumlocution activites. ]


oh, here's another..oldie but goodie...."no stick or stems..you don't need..
that acapulco 's gold..is sum bad...


*
really, hope its a grand~old adventure/s with lots of !

Seems like we're living parallel Disney adventures, but like Star Trek TNG we're "out of phase" so we can't see each other

 

[gossipgirl]

Continuation of the Continuation of the Introduction to the Big Adventure

By this time I had been hired full time, and would get 2 weeks of vacation in 2008, which means we had better make the most of this cruise! I for some reason thought that when Jill said we needed to fly in the day before, that meant Thursday night, so that’s what I planned on. The Monday after the cruise is a holiday, so I don’t have to work that day. Which means we have a Friday before the cruise and the rest of Sunday after getting off the ship free. Hmmm, wonder what we will be doing! Part of Thursday and Friday we will be at WDW, staying at the Swan and Dolphin (thanks Amex Starwood points!). Then after the cruise, we’ll be heading to Disneyland on Sunday and staying at the Candy Cane Inn, and then flying back on Monday. Jill has been to Disneyland, but I never have so it will be new to me!

Wow, that’s a lot of blabbering to lead up to this: if you want to see the 15 night Panama Canal Westbound cruise through the eyes of a young married couple with no kids (except for two kitties), stay tuned!

Chrissy says she's been practicing her hammock skills for Castaway Cay… wait, who’s not going?!

KMX says that she gets the bed to herself while Matt and Jill are gone!​

your kitty is so cute. it almost looks like my kitty.

 

[JLSE50]

Where did you find the great map that is in your signature?
Jan

It's on the Disney Crusie website when you click on the info about the 15 night WB. It's a flash thing, so you have to wait for the animation to stop and then you can grab it with screen capture software. I may post it a little later to show where the cruise will be going

Thank you. I got it.
Jan

 

[IAmAHiddenMickey]

Saving for the Cruise

Right around July the reality started to set in that we would actually need to pay for the cruise. We actually live on the dreaded B word – budget – so I had been putting away some money every month in the vacation fund.

Jill reacts to my budgetary genius.​

We keep it in ING Direct’s online savings account – pays some interest that you can buy a new pin with (or at least that’s how I explained it to Jill!).

The question was whether I was putting in enough. Sure enough, the inner nerd came out and I devised an excel spreadsheet. We knew the base cost of the cruise, how much the minimum tips were (and figured in some extra too. If we could have, I would have given a lot more to our dining room servers from the last cruise). We also tried to estimate spending money, excursions, transfers, and all the stuff you can spend money on. I broke it down into money we would need by Feb. 10th, (paid in full date) and the day the cruise started. That way we wouldn’t look at the numbers and think that we only had 6 months to save it.

To download the cruise worksheet for your own cruise adventure, follow this link:

Cruise Worksheet Download Link

About midway down the page is a "Download" link, click it and save the file to your computer. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM.

While I know we will probably overspend (shhh, don’t tell Jill or she’ll help me go over!), it’s a real relief to come home from a vacation and not have to worry about paying for it.

Today marks 90 days until our cruise begins, and Jill is ready to book at midnight! An update soon on what we reserved (after a lot of sleep!).

 

[IAmAHiddenMickey]

Hey, what are you doing on my DisBoards?!

And the waiting continues. Counting down the days, excited to add a little more to the fund, waiting to see who else will be joining us and what fun stuff we’ll get to do. Jill spends a ton of time on the boards, and always tells me what’s going on. What she didn’t know (at least for a while) is that I was also reading the cruise forum. I would usually sneak on during my lunch break, or sometimes at home when we are both on our laptops. Occasionally she would spot me and go “Hey, what are you doing on my DisBoards!?” I don’t get away with much, but sneaking a peak every once is a while doesn’t hurt!

I have gone back and read almost all the trip reports for cruises as far back as 2004. There are some great ones! My favorite part of each report is when they come over the bridge and see the ship!

Our first clear picture of the ship - awesome!​

I know that is one of the memories that stick out from that day that we did the same thing. Last time we drove ourselves, but this time we are riding with a group of Dis members in a Hummerzine, so I’m sure there will be piercing screams at the first site of the ship (reminder: pack earplugs!).

 

[disneyjunkie]

 

[granmaz]

Hey, what are you doing on my DisBoards?!

And the waiting continues. Counting down the days, excited to add a little more to the fund, waiting to see who else will be joining us and what fun stuff we’ll get to do. Jill spends a ton of time on the boards, and always tells me what’s going on. What she didn’t know (at least for a while) is that I was also reading the cruise forum. I would usually sneak on during my lunch break, or sometimes at home when we are both on our laptops. Occasionally she would spot me and go “Hey, what are you doing on my DisBoards!?” I don’t get away with much, but sneaking a peak every once is a while doesn’t hurt!

I have gone back and read almost all the trip reports for cruises as far back as 2004. There are some great ones! My favorite part of each report is when they come over the bridge and see the ship!

Our first clear picture of the ship - awesome!​

I know that is one of the memories that stick out from that day that we did the same thing. Last time we drove ourselves, but this time we are riding with a group of Dis members in a Hummerzine, so I’m sure there will be piercing screams at the first site of the ship (reminder: pack earplugs!).

Hey, sneakin in and checking the thread on the quiet!!!! Yes, earplugs will be a good idea. We aren't on the Hummerzines so will see you at the port!!

 

[lillygator]

very nice link! Did you post that on the main boards prior? I have one quite similar to that along with about 12 others ones I keep trying to update!!

 

[IAmAHiddenMickey]

very nice link! Did you post that on the main boards prior? I have one quite similar to that along with about 12 others ones I keep trying to update!!

I think Jill posted it to the original WBPC thread, but not to the main board. I like to look at the countdown screen and press the F9 to update about once a second

 

[IAmAHiddenMickey]

Hey, sneakin in and checking the thread on the quiet!!!! Yes, earplugs will be a good idea. We aren't on the Hummerzines so will see you at the port!!

I assume we will all be in Dis green, so no easy way to miss each other!

In the 30 seconds it took to read this, they've already posted 43 new pages, better get back over there quick!

 

[IAmAHiddenMickey]

And the waiting continues…and the budget keeps rising!

I must have checked our plane reservations, hotel reservations, and the Dreams Unlimited website a hundred times just to make sure that I’ve gotten everything we need reserved. We will be staying at the Dolphin on the 8th and 9th, and Jill was very excited to find out there will be a Pirate and Princess party on the 9th. Guess that means I need to up the budget for some tickets!

Also, just a few days ago excursions were released! Jill had been telling me some of the ones from the 15 night cruise, and I had been half listening to what she wanted to do. Sea lions… swimming with them… being eaten like a sardine… cliff diving to escape their wrath… canopy adventure if your bones weren’t totally broken already… that’s about what I heard. I just kept saying “Sure we can do those things, I estimated $400 for all excursions, just keep it to that.” HAHAHHAHA I crack myself up sometimes.

Well, she picked what she wanted us to do, and I then independently picked what I wanted to do, and holy cow the lists match! That can only mean one thing… mind control. I’m pretty sure it’s a global conspiracy. They put radio waves in TV shows to make men susceptible to suggestions, which explains why Jill always wants to talk while I am watching TV! In case you can’t tell, I am kidding. At least that’s what Jill tells me.

Ahhh Deck 4 - my idea of the perfect excursion.​

So our excursion list matches, and we only want to spend about double what I estimated, so I have all the qualifications I need to head off to Washington DC and become and budget analyst. One problem I do foresee is that we are trying to go on the canopy adventure that’s the last port. I hope they have extra strong ropes, cause I’m sure after 13 nights of pure food heaven our estimates of what we weigh will be a little off!

Answer: Eating this 13 nights in a row. Question: What will cause zip line ropes to snap?​

Less than 80 days to go! Up next... Fishing - Disney Style

 

[granmaz]

Bumping this in the hope you don't forget to keep up to date!!!

 

[Cinderella&Dopey]

And the waiting continues…and the budget keeps rising!

I must have checked our plane reservations, hotel reservations, and the Dreams Unlimited website a hundred times just to make sure that I’ve gotten everything we need reserved. We will be staying at the Dolphin on the 8th and 9th, and Jill was very excited to find out there will be a Pirate and Princess party on the 9th. Guess that means I need to up the budget for some tickets!

Also, just a few days ago excursions were released! Jill had been telling me some of the ones from the 15 night cruise, and I had been half listening to what she wanted to do. Sea lions… swimming with them… being eaten like a sardine… cliff diving to escape their wrath… canopy adventure if your bones weren’t totally broken already… that’s about what I heard. I just kept saying “Sure we can do those things, I estimated $400 for all excursions, just keep it to that.” HAHAHHAHA I crack myself up sometimes.

Well, she picked what she wanted us to do, and I then independently picked what I wanted to do, and holy cow the lists match! That can only mean one thing… mind control. I’m pretty sure it’s a global conspiracy. They put radio waves in TV shows to make men susceptible to suggestions, which explains why Jill always wants to talk while I am watching TV! In case you can’t tell, I am kidding. At least that’s what Jill tells me.

Ahhh Deck 4 - my idea of the perfect excursion.​

So our excursion list matches, and we only want to spend about double what I estimated, so I have all the qualifications I need to head off to Washington DC and become and budget analyst. One problem I do foresee is that we are trying to go on the canopy adventure that’s the last port. I hope they have extra strong ropes, cause I’m sure after 13 nights of pure food heaven our estimates of what we weigh will be a little off!

Answer: Eating this 13 nights in a row. Question: What will cause zip line ropes to snap?​

Less than 80 days to go! Up next... Fishing - Disney Style

Look who was doing the Safety Drill on the Eastern in Feburary!

 

[LITTLEKID58]

Tfs

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

I'm really enjoying your report! We also got married at the wedding pavillion in June 2006! What date were you? We were the 19th!

 

[IAmAHiddenMickey]

I'm really enjoying your report! We also got married at the wedding pavillion in June 2006! What date were you? We were the 19th!

Our date was the 15th. It's amazing how many weddings happen there, I believe there were 3 plus ours that day.